B00CQUPUKW EBOK (4 page)

Dangerous, too, since he had enough money and power to break her.  He could keep her tied up in a custody battle for the next hundred years if he wanted.  And from the imminent rage in his black eyes and thunderous voice, Kaya had no doubt that was exactly what he intended to do.  He would fight to keep the kids in his life because he loved them.

He shared a mutual love and trust with his godchildren—the kind of love and trust that would take her months, if not years to build.  Especially when it came to Jason who’d made it clear that he did not like her.  

The courts would look favorably on their emotional ties to Bryce, and take into consideration that Bryce was older, shared a history with each of them, and was far more financially capable of taking care of all of them.  She was twenty-three years old, a stranger to them, had no experience with children, had no clue how to be a parent, and would probably be broke in three months. 

Yes, it was true that she had a piece of paper that gave her legal rights to them, but Kaya had spent enough time in Florida’s child welfare system to know that a notarized piece of paper wasn’t enough.  She’d witnessed a lot of cases where the courts ruled against legal rights because they didn’t think it was in the best interest of the child—her own case was one of those where best interest won out over legal and maternal rights.  Kaya knew now exactly how all those parents who’d fought for their children and lost them felt.  She knew how Nadine felt when she lost custody of her.  The only difference was that Nadine hadn’t really fought for her; she’d used her parental rights for her own selfish reasons that had nothing to do with love.  The courts had been on little Kaya’s side, and had made the right decision in her favor.  Would they do the same for Jason, Alyssa, and Anastasia?

If she were honest with herself, Kaya knew she couldn’t expect the courts to side with her in this case.  She couldn’t think of one person who would be on her side.  Not one. 

Kaya sighed as she exited the car and walked toward the mudroom.  The shock of learning about Michael and Lauren’s sudden deaths, inheriting the children, then finding out they didn’t have a penny to their names—all in two days—was hard enough to fathom.  She never thought she’d have to fight for them, too.

The thought of losing her nephew and nieces to Bryce Fontaine left a hollow feeling in the pit of Kaya’s stomach, and as she sat on the bench in the mudroom to shed her boots, she squeezed her eyelids together to stop the stinging tears from falling.  If she lost them, she had no one to blame but herself.  A stupid, childish grudge against her sister could cost her the three most precious things that have ever entered her life.  She had to find a way to keep them.

Kaya opened her eyes and stared at the white ceiling. “God, help me.  Make a way for me to keep the children, please.” 

As an adult, Kaya didn’t practice any religion, but as a child, she’d lived in a few foster homes where the norm was to attend church on Sundays.  She’d sat in the congregation with her foster families and listened, unimpressed, as people shared miracles that God had done in their lives.  Before she’d become a ward of the state of Florida, Kaya had spent years praying for her father to come back and take her out of the hellhole he’d left her in.  Since God never answered that prayer, she’d stop believing in miracles.

From what she’d learned about Michael and Lauren, it seemed as if they’d been regular church attendees, so perhaps God would grant this wish—not for her, but for Michael and Lauren and their children’s sakes.

Feeling a little more balanced in spirit, Kaya got up and opened the door that led into the house.  But as she entered the palatial foyer and took in the grandeur of the marble Grecian columns separating several richly furnished areas of the first floor, and the myriad of Palladian windows that afforded breathtaking views of Crystal Lake and the rolling mountains behind it, Bryce’s claim rang loud and clear in her ears.

Mine.  L’etoile du Nord belongs to me
.  

This was Bryce Fontaine’s house.  And she bet anything that in that big head of his, he thought that he owned everything in it, including her sister’s children.  Yet, she thought, biting into her lower lip, nowhere in this house, not even in the third-floor unfinished master suite, was there a sign that Bryce Fontaine lived here. 

Why didn’t
he
live here?  Why were her sister and her family living in his house?  And why didn’t anybody bother to tell her what was going on?

Lauren never explained anything about her private life in their occasional snail-mail correspondences.  She’d merely sent pictures of the family with short notes to explain them, but at the end of each letter, she expressed her wish that the two of them would have a chance to meet again, get to know each other, and talk about their father.  It was the last part that always got to Kaya.  Back then, she had no desire to talk to Lauren about the father who’d chosen Lauren and her mother over her.  Today, she’d give anything to sit down with her sister and learn about the man she’d once loved with all her little heart and soul.

“Auntie Kaya, you’re home.  You’re home.”  

Kaya looked up at the sound of the cheerful voice and the pitter-pattering of feet on the landing linking the two sprawling staircases to the second floor.  She smiled as Alyssa, with Snoopy clutched under one arm, raced down a flight of steps as quickly as her little legs would carry her. 

All of Kaya’s doubts vanished at the glee on the little girl’s face.  She couldn’t remember anyone ever being this excited to see her, but she could remember being just as excited to see her father when she was a little girl.  She dropped her purse on a nearby table and opened her arms as Alyssa ran to her. 

“Hey, baby.”  She hugged the dark-brown, curly-headed child and kissed her relentlessly.  How could she have forgotten she had Alyssa on her side?  This darling little child had accepted her without question.  She was Kaya’s glimmer of hope, her assurance that all would work out for the best.

Alyssa was still too young to understand the sudden void in her life, and last night at bedtime when she’d asked where her mommy and daddy were, Kaya had simply told her that they had gone to heaven.

“Did they go for a vacation?  Can I go to heaven to see them, Auntie Kaya?” she’d asked
.

“One day, honey.  One day,” Kaya had replied on a sob
.

“You didn’t kiss Snoopy,” Alyssa said, holding up her favorite stuffed animal that was once white and fluffy, but was now a tattered dull grey from four years of heavy loving.

Kaya gave Snoopy a tight-lipped peck on his scruffy black nose.  She refused to think of the plethora of germs crawling all over that dog.  Snoopy went everywhere with Alyssa, even to the bathroom.

“Did you bring me a present, Auntie Kaya?”  Alyssa fiddled with the locket around Kaya’s neck.  

“Not this time, sweetie.” Kaya gazed into her sparkling eyes—Eli Brehna’s eyes, eyes that she’d also inherited, eyes that Nadine cursed each time she looked at her daughter.

“Why didn’t you bring me a present, Auntie Kaya?” 

“Because when Little Brownie Locks was climbing up the snowy mountain,” she began while tickling Alyssa’s tummy, “she met a big bad bear who scared her so much…”  Kaya growled for emphasis.  “Little Brownie Locks was so frightened, she forgot all the important thing she had to do, and she ran all the way home, screaming, ‘Mommy, Mommy, the big bad bear is after me.  Mommy, Mommy, help me.’”

As Alyssa screamed in delight, the parallelism of that tale to her encounter with Bryce made Kaya’s heart race.  She’d been so preoccupied with his threats, she’d forgotten to stop at the quilt shop in town to pick up a new dress for one of Alyssa’s many dolls.  She’d learned last night that Alyssa was a doll collector, and never said no to a new one, not even duplicates.

“Tickle me some more, Auntie Kaya,” Alyssa yelled, wriggling around in her arms.  

Kaya obliged and pressed her close as she giggled uncontrollably.  Kaya breathed in the sounds of joy.  Anything was better than the ominous cloud hanging over the house, waiting to burst and drench their hearts with sorrow.   She took a few wavering steps and plopped down on the sofa closest to the deep-ledged fireplace that separated the living and dining areas.

For a few moments, she gazed out at the winter wonderland beyond the tinted glass windows.  She was surrounded with a white calmness, so different from the unceasing din of Palm Beach.  Life will be very different for these children in Palm Beach, she thought, turning her attention to Alyssa who was now fiddling with her locket again.  “Where’s everybody?” she asked. 

“Jason’s in his room and Miss Libby is in Stasia’s room.”  Alyssa clapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes opening wide.  “Shhhh.”  She brought her lips close to Kaya’s ears.  “Miss Libby says be quiet ‘cause she’s putting Stasia to bed.” 

Kaya chuckled. “Now you tell me, after all that screaming you just did.”  Thank God the house was huge, and that the nursery was on the second floor on the opposite side of house.

“I thought I heard you.” 

Kaya smiled at the freckled-face redhead descending the stairs.  She’d known Libby for less than twenty-four hours and she already felt as if they were close friends. 

Kaya had felt very welcomed since she’d stepped off the plane in Manchester to find a Fontaine Enterprises jet, albeit a small one, waiting to fly her to Granite Falls.   She’d arrived at
L’etoile du Nord
to meet Libby and Steven, Ethan Bennett—whom she learned was Jason’s best friend—and his mother, Adrianna.  She’d also met Pastor Reuben Kelly and his wife Samantha from Granite Falls Community Church.  They’d all raced to the house the night Michael and Lauren died, and had stayed with the children until Kaya arrived.

If it was one thing that was made clear to Kaya right away, it was that the children had a strong support system in place.  They’d shown up in the time of a crisis, and Kaya was grateful for the time they’d spend with her and the children, but once they felt that she could handle the situation, they’d returned to their families and lives.  Pastor Kelly had a church to run and Samantha had other clients to attend to.  Adrianna had two more children at home—a toddler and an infant—and Libby had a previously scheduled bridal dress fitting.

If Kaya were to be honest with herself, she’d admit that after everyone went home last night, leaving her all alone with a screaming infant, she’d been tempted to catch the first flight back to Florida this morning.  But when Alyssa had crawled into her bed in the early hours of dawn, wrapped her arms about her neck and told her that she loved her, all thoughts of running had been vanquished from Kaya’s mind.  This situation was different from any she’d ever faced, and she knew she was already messing up, big time, but she wasn’t a quitter.  She wasn’t going to quit these kids just because her circumstance looked impossible to overcome.

“Is she sleeping?” Kaya asked, jutting her chin at the monitor in Libby’s hand.  

Libby set the monitor on the marble table in front of the sofa and sat down beside Kaya.  “I got her to take a couple ounces of formula.  That will hold her for a little while.  She misses nursing.”  She rolled her eyes in Alyssa’s direction.

Kaya nodded her understanding.  Samantha had instructed them not to say anything to Alyssa about her parents’ deaths until Bryce was back.  Samantha thought he should be the one to tell her since he’d been like a father to her for her entire life.  Only now did Kaya understand the gravity of those words.  Would Samantha testify on Bryce’s behalf in a custody battle? 

Kaya swallowed and smiled at the child sitting on her lap.  “Alyssa, can you go play with your dolls for a while?  I need to talk with Miss Libby.”

“I wanna stay with you.”  Alyssa tightened her hand around Kaya’s waist.  “I’ll be quiet and not interrupt.”

“I know you’ll be quiet, but I need to talk about some grownup stuff with Miss Libby.  It’s just for a little while.  Okay?”

Alyssa pouted and reluctantly climbed off her lap.  “Will you play dolls with me?”

“In a little while.”

“Okay, Auntie Kaya.  Don’t forget, now.”

“I wouldn’t.  I promise.” 

Alyssa skipped across the floor and descended three short steps that led into a playroom near the kitchen area.

“So, how did your meeting with Steven go?”  Libby asked.

“Interesting.”  Kaya noted the sparkle in Libby’s eyes at the mention of her fiancé.  Kaya never felt enthusiastic when she spoke about Jack, thought of him, or even when she was with him.  He seemed more like an old familiar friend than a fiancé.  The sight of him caused her no real delight, just a warm comfortable feeling, like she would get from slipping on a cozy sweater on a chilly evening, and being grateful that it still fit, and could do its job.

But her heart was pounding out of control at the mere thought of Bryce Fontaine.  Her fingers still tingled from his touch, and those gnawing pangs in the core of her belly were back at the memory of his dark probing eyes, sexy brown lips, and bronzed giant stature. 

The man had set her on fire with just one look.

Kaya let out a harsh breath.  “Is he always so damned arrogant?”

“Who, Steven?”  A frown wrinkled Libby’s forehead.

“No.  The
godfather
.”

“Oh.”  Libby split a wry, freckled smile.  “You met Bryce.”

“Collided with Bryce would be a more accurate account.”  Kaya had to bite back her impression of the man since Libby worked at Fontaine Enterprises as head of the accounting department.  “Why didn’t you tell me this house belonged to him?”

Libby shrugged.  “I assumed you knew.  Didn’t you and your sister talk?”

“I wish we did.  Then I might understand why Bryce thinks her children belong to him.  He went ballistic when he heard I’d inherited them and that I was taking them to Florida with me.  For a minute there I thought he was the biological father instead of the godfather.”

Libby dropped her gaze and her expression turned somber.

“What is it, Libby?  Is there something I should know, besides what I don’t already?”